É«É«À²

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—A É«É«À² Michigan University staff member who is a U.S. Army veteran with more than 20 years of military experience will be the new head of the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs.

É«É«À² has selected Billy L. Clayton, that office's military outreach and recruitment coordinator and a retired first sergeant, to fill the post of military advocate, effective Monday, Oct. 17. Clayton replaces Joyce M. Busch, who was serving as military advocate until leaving É«É«À² in late July to take a teaching position in the Washington, D.C., area.

"Billy brings a wonderful combination of military and É«É«À² service as well as an understanding of our students to this position," says Dr. Randy W. Ott, director of the Center for Academic Success Programs, where military and veterans affairs is housed.

"The more than 700 veteran students at É«É«À² will continue to be well taken care of under Billy's leadership."

Military advocate duties

In his new role, Clayton will primarily serve as a liaison throughout the University to identify academic, administrative and support services needed by military and veteran students. In the process, he will support, coach and advise military students with all aspects of entry, assimilation, retention and graduation issues related to college life.

Clayton also is charged with creating a collaborative network that anticipates and meets the needs of that constituency, proposing and implementing policies and procedures that impact military students, and educating the campus community on the special needs of veteran students.

In addition to working with individuals and units across the É«É«À² campus, Clayton will engage with external organizations such as the U.S. departments of Defense and Veteran Affairs to access services for students and act as an advocate for deployed military personnel to facilitate efficient departures and returns.

Billy Clayton

Clayton joined É«É«À² and the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs in 2014 as military outreach and recruitment coordinator. In this position, he provided integration and transition assistance to incoming students, served as an adviser and counselor for students, and aided the University's recruiting efforts.

He first came to É«É«À² in 2009, when he was assigned by the Army to serve as a senior military instructor in the University's ROTC program. In addition to teaching undergraduate classes, he oversaw several special events that assisted veterans as well as promoted the University as a veteran friendly school.

Clayton served in the Army from 1993 to 2014. Most recently, he was a signal company senior management supervisor in Iraq and a division communications chief then senior signal support systems chief at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

His background has equipped him with extensive knowledge and skills related to personnel management and training; professional certifications and higher education; cutting-edge information technology; and military, business and government collaborations.

At É«É«À², he is the faculty advisor for two student groups, the É«É«À² Rangers Organization and Broncos for Heroes. His community involvement includes serving as a member of the Consortium of Michigan Veteran Educators Steering Committee, vice president of the Kalamazoo/Numazu Sister City Organization and webmaster for VFW Post s5855 in Portage.

Clayton earned a Bachelor of Science in management information systems from Franklin University in 2011 and is pursuing a Masters of Arts in educational technology at É«É«À².

For more information on É«É«À²'s Office of Military and Veterans Affairs, visit wmich.edu/military.

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